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General Changing from 500 to 500L

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General Changing from 500 to 500L

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Dino500

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Hi all,


Haven't been around for a while - been out enjoying the 500!

Due to family circumstances I have had to upgrade to a 500L Pop Star from my 500 Lounge. Thought I was going to miss my cheeky little 1.2 500 but after a test drive in the L I immediately loved it.
It has a more 'grown up' less retro interior compared to the 500 but I still felt and saw that cheeky charm inside and out that the 500 gives you. The L also drives really well too, nice light and sharp steering and very responsive like the smaller 500.
Went for the 1.4 engine as I tend to do low mileage under 12k per year and do small trips, just needed the two extra doors and a bigger boot for the dog lol.

Pick it up next week. Great car.

M
 
Dino500 said:
Hi all,


Haven't been around for a while - been out enjoying the 500!

Due to family circumstances I have had to upgrade to a 500L Pop Star from my 500 Lounge. Thought I was going to miss my cheeky little 1.2 500 but after a test drive in the L I immediately loved it.
It has a more 'grown up' less retro interior compared to the 500 but I still felt and saw that cheeky charm inside and out that the 500 gives you. The L also drives really well too, nice light and sharp steering and very responsive like the smaller 500.
Went for the 1.4 engine as I tend to do low mileage under 12k per year and do small trips, just needed the two extra doors and a bigger boot for the dog lol.

Pick it up next week. Great car.

M
Click to expand...

We changed from a 500 to a 500L for exactly the same reasons and we have never regretted it - welcom to the world of 500L ownership!
 
My wife has just swapped her 500C for a 500L trekking, love it. In the car park its seems massive.Just need some snow to see if its any good in rough conditions.
 
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Reactions: MJG
Picking mine up tomorrow!
Can't wait. Measured the drive way yesterday...it'll just fit lol.
 
Dino500 said:
Picking mine up tomorrow!
Can't wait. Measured the drive way yesterday...it'll just fit lol.
Click to expand...

Nice one!

Yes on the size issue our 500 fit in our garage no problem whereas the L will just about fit however you can't open a door far enough to get out (n)

So ours lives on the drive now.
 
Just called FIAT to double check my tomorrow pickup of the new motor and apparently it still has not left the docks as they have had trouble from Fiat Italy to get the dealership the customers release form. It's been at the docks since last Wednesday.

Heyho.
 
Dino500 said:
Just called FIAT to double check my tomorrow pickup of the new motor and apparently it still has not left the docks as they have had trouble from Fiat Italy to get the dealership the customers release form. It's been at the docks since last Wednesday.

Heyho.
Click to expand...

.... and they didn't think to ring you before now, so you had to ring them. Shoddy (but not untypical) IMHO.
 
Yea standard I guess. Just a bit gutted as tomorrow was arranged with the dealership to be my day off for collection. Not off for another week now.

But hey we have all been there right...
 
So I ordered some LED DRL bulbs as recommend in the Panda forum and they arrived this morning. Now I have the small bits (bulbs), just need the large bit (the car) now....

Car still stuck in Portbury. Took FIAT a week to release it from customs. Apparently it's getting to my dealer today for a pickup later on. Just needs to be unloaded and cleaned. They close in 4 hours.....
 
mark7551 said:
My wife has just swapped her 500C for a 500L trekking, love it. In the car park its seems massive.Just need some snow to see if its any good in rough conditions.
Click to expand...


I have been driving in the harshest winter I quite a while in Cleveland, Ohio USA. I handles moderate snow with the traction control very well with the stock Continental all season tires. It even starts without issue at -12 deg F or -22 deg C. Overall I think it is a good winter vehicle.
 
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Reactions: MJG
Just an update on the L 1.4.

So my journey too and from work has a mixture of B roads, stop start and some serious hills as well as dual carriageway. On multiple two way trips I'm averaging 45mpg. My old 1.2 500 got 48-50. So 10% loss in economy ain't too bad in what you gain with the bigger model.

However having said that on a return trip from work where the first 3 miles of my 15 mile commute is coasting down hill and then I was lucky with the lights all the way home and kept to all the speed limits and got this:


ImageUploadedByFIAT Forum1393598124.189041.jpg
 
Dino500 said:
Just an update on the L 1.4.

So my journey too and from work has a mixture of B roads, stop start and some serious hills as well as dual carriageway. On multiple two way trips I'm averaging 45mpg. My old 1.2 500 got 48-50. So 10% loss in economy ain't too bad in what you gain with the bigger model.

However having said that on a return trip from work where the first 3 miles of my 15 mile commute is coasting down hill and then I was lucky with the lights all the way home and kept to all the speed limits and got this:


View attachment 131536
Click to expand...

Great info there! I still haven't got round to test driving the 500L yet, but we also have a 1.2 in our Panda (as was my old 500) and the kind of figures you're getting is what I thought would probably be achievable if we were to swap?

Would I be right in saying the 1.4 in the 500L doesn't "die" going uphill quite as much as the 1.2 in the 500/Panda? That is where most of the economy loss goes with the 1.2 as you have to drop down gears and rev the nuts off it if you want to be doing more than 16mph, haha!:)(y)
 
Hey Uwe,


I too came from the 1.2 500 and on part of my journey up the long set of hills I described above would require 3rd gear and a lot of revs. In the L it's 4th all the way and it seems to have a lot of usable torque and throttle response so it punts up the hill and corners in 4th with about 2500-2750 revs on the clock no probs. The engine does not sound over loaded at all and it does it with ease. Again as with all cars the big hill is where I lose the most economy but overall I'm about 10% within the mpg of the 1.2 on the same route.

Great car, great engine.
 
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